Ball Janik LLP represented Sunset Presbyterian Church, a local Oregon church, that was suffering from water leaks which lead to the discovery of defective construction. The church did not discover these defects until approximately nine years after construction, and filed suit against the general contractor thereafter. On motion by the general contractor, the trial court dismissed the case based upon a very narrow contractual timing clause. Our attorneys took the case to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which reversed the decision of the trial court, holding that the general contractor could not rely upon the contractual timing clause when it had not fulfilled all necessary underlying obligations.

On April 24, 2014, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled in favor of our client, holding that without the necessary certificate, the claims in the Sunset case would be governed by all applicable Oregon statutes of limitation and ultimate repose, but would not be altered by the accrual clause. For more information on this case, read about it in our Construction Law Watch blog.